Yang Huo陽貨第十七

Yang Huo wished to see Confucius, and Confucius would not see him, so he sent Confucius a steamed pig. Confucius chose a time when Yang Huo was away and went to give his thanks, and they met on the road. Yang Huo said to Confucius, "Come, I will speak with you." Then he said, "To hold a treasure in your breast and leave your own state in disorder — can that be called humane?" "It cannot." "To love taking part in affairs and yet lose the moment again and again — can that be called wise?" "It cannot." "The sun and the moon go on their way. The years are not with me." Confucius said, "Very well. I too shall take office."

The Master said, "By nature men are close to one another. By practice they grow far apart."

The Master said, "Only the wisest and the most foolish are never shifted."

The Master went to Wucheng and heard the sound of singing to strings. He smiled and said, "Why use an ox knife to kill a chicken?" Ziyou answered, "Once I heard you say, 'When the noble man learns the Way he loves others. When the small man learns the Way he is easy to employ.'" The Master said, "My young friends, Yan is right. What I said a moment ago was only a joke."

Gongshan Furao held Bi in revolt and summoned him, and the Master wished to go. Zilu was displeased and said, "If there is nowhere to go, let it be. Why go to Gongshan of all men?" The Master said, "The man who summons me will hardly do so for nothing. If anyone would use me, I would make that place a Zhou in the east."

Zizhang asked Confucius about humaneness. Confucius said, "To be able to practice five things in the world is humaneness." "May I ask what they are?" He said, "Respect, breadth, trust, quickness, and kindness. If you are respectful you will not be slighted. If you are broad you will win the multitude. If you are trustworthy others will give you their work. If you are quick you will have results. If you are kind you will be able to employ others."

Bi Xi summoned him, and the Master wished to go. Zilu said, "Once I heard you say, 'The noble man does not enter the house of a man who does what is not good with his own hands.' Bi Xi holds Zhongmou in revolt, and you wish to go. How can this be?" The Master said, "Yes, I said that. But is it not called hard, when grinding does not wear it thin? Is it not called white, when dyeing does not turn it black? Am I a bottle gourd? How can I hang there and never be eaten?"

The Master said, "You, have you heard of the six words and the six failings?" He answered, "Not yet." "Sit down. I will tell you. To love humaneness without loving learning — that failing is folly. To love knowing without loving learning — that failing is wandering. To love trust without loving learning — that failing is harm to others. To love uprightness without loving learning — that failing is harshness. To love courage without loving learning — that failing is disorder. To love firmness without loving learning — that failing is recklessness."

The Master said, "My young friends, why do you not learn the Book of Songs? The Songs can stir you, can let you observe, can bring you together with others, can let you voice a complaint. Near at hand they teach you to serve your father, and far off to serve your ruler. They also teach you many names of birds and beasts and plants and trees."

The Master said to Boyu, "Have you learned the Zhou nan and the Shao nan? A man who has not learned the Zhou nan and the Shao nan is like one standing with his face straight to a wall."

The Master said, "Rites, rites, they say. Do they mean jade and silk? Music, music, they say. Do they mean bells and drums?"

The Master said, "A man stern in the face and soft within, compared with small men, is like a thief who bores through a wall and climbs over a fence."

The Master said, "The village worthy (鄕原) is a thief of virtue."

The Master said, "To hear a thing on the road and tell it on the road is to throw virtue away."

The Master said, "Can you serve a ruler together with a mean man? Before he has got a thing he worries about getting it. Once he has got it he worries about losing it. And when he truly worries about losing it, there is nothing he will not do."

The Master said, "In old times the people had three faults, and today it seems even these are gone. The wild man of old was free of small bonds. The wild man of today is dissolute. The proud man of old had sharp corners. The proud man of today is angry and fierce. The foolish man of old was straight. The foolish man of today only deceives."

The Master said, "Clever words and a fine face are seldom humane."

The Master said, "I hate the way purple takes the place of vermilion. I hate the way the sounds of Zheng throw the proper music into disorder. I hate the way a sharp tongue overturns a state."

The Master said, "I would rather not speak." Zigong said, "If you do not speak, what shall we your students pass on?" The Master said, "What does Heaven say? Yet the four seasons run their course and all things come to life. What does Heaven say?"

Ru Bei wished to see Confucius, and Confucius declined on the excuse of illness. As the man who carried the message went out the door, the Master took up the se (瑟) and sang, so that the man would hear him.

Zai Wo asked, "Three years of mourning is too long a term. If the noble man performs no rites for three years, the rites will surely fall apart. If he makes no music for three years, music will surely fall apart. The old grain is used up, the new grain has come in, and the fire sticks are changed for new ones. One year is enough." The Master said, "Would it be easy for you to eat rice and wear brocade?" He said, "It would." "If it is easy for you, then do it. When the noble man is in mourning, fine food is not sweet to him, music brings him no joy, and he is not at ease where he lives. That is why he does not do these things. Now you say it is easy for you, so do it." Zai Wo went out. The Master said, "How far Yu (予) is from humaneness. A child is three years old before it leaves its parents' arms. The three years of mourning are the mourning kept everywhere under Heaven. Did Yu not have three years of love from his parents?"

The Master said, "To eat your fill all day with nothing to set your mind on is a hard case indeed. Are there not such things as chess and go? Even playing them is better than doing nothing at all."

Zilu said, "Does the noble man hold courage highest?" The Master said, "The noble man holds what is right highest. A noble man with courage and no sense of right will make a rebellion. A small man with courage and no sense of right will become a thief."

Zigong said, "Does the noble man also have his hatreds?" The Master said, "He has. He hates those who broadcast the faults of others. He hates those who are below and slander those above. He hates those who have courage and no manners. He hates those who are bold and yet closed in mind." Then he said, "Ci, do you also have your hatreds?" Zigong said, "I hate those who spy something out and call it wisdom. I hate those who are insolent and call it courage. I hate those who expose others and call it uprightness."

The Master said, "Women and small men are hard to deal with. Draw them close and they grow insolent. Keep them off and they bear a grudge."

The Master said, "If a man is disliked at forty, that is the end of him."